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This Mexican Chicken Casserole is one of our favorite easy recipes for Cinco de Mayo or any busy weeknight. It has layers of tortilla chips, creamy shredded chicken, salsa, black beans, green chiles, fresh tomatoes, and lots of cheese!
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Mexican Chicken Casserole Recipe
- What Ingredients Are In Mexican Chicken Casserole?
- How To Make A Simple Mexican Chicken Casserole
- What To Serve With This Mexican Chicken Casserole
- Mexican Casserole Variations and Swaps
- Make Ahead, Storage, and Freezing
- More Casserole Recipes To Love
- Mexican Chicken Casserole Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Mexican Chicken Casserole Recipe
My easy Mexican Chicken Casserole is the perfect main dish for Fiesta night – just serve with your favorite Mexican side dishes, like my Mexican Rice or Slow Cooker Mexican Beans.
Chicken Casserole recipes are perfect for a busy weeknight meal because they can be so easy to whip up. I always have shredded chicken leftover in the freezer which is perfect for this recipe!
The layers of flavors of this Mexican inspired dinner are simple yet incredibly tasty, and you can even serve this with tortilla chips for a delicious appetizer.
What Ingredients Are In Mexican Chicken Casserole?
This Mexican Chicken Casserole only needs a few ingredients that you likely already have on hand:
- Shredded or cubed chicken breasts – Try my Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Recipe or make enough Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken to make enough to have on hand at all times. You can also whip up some flavorful Oven Baked Chicken Breasts (try them with taco seasoning instead!).
- Salsa – your favorite brand is fine. As long as you like the flavor it will work great in this recipe.
- Cream cheese – you only need 4 ounces, which is half of a brick of cream cheese. Make sure to buy the brick style and not the whipped. Also you want full fat for full flavor, trust me on this.
- Diced green chiles – I only use half of the 4 ounce can because I don’t like things really spicy. You can use the who can if you want a little more kick.
- Black Beans – pinto beans would be an easy swap for these if it’s what you have on hand. Again you only need half of the 15-ounce can. You can add them all if you want to bulk up the meal a little bit.
- Sour cream – Greek yogurt can be used as a substitute.
- Tomato – one medium to large sized ripe, red tomato. I prefer Roma tomatoes because they have a lot less juice, but you can use any tomato you can get your hands on. If you have extra, dice some up for a garnish.
- Green onions – thinly sliced. Save some for garnish.
- Shredded cheese – Shred yourself from a fresh block of cheddar. The taste is so much better than pre-shredded, and it melts better too.
- Tortilla chips – This is a perfect time to use up those crumbs and broken pieces at the bottom of the bag.
How To Make A Simple Mexican Chicken Casserole
This delicious Mexican Chicken Casserole is easily assembled in layers, and takes just about 10-15 minutes of prep. Fast comfort food is sometimes the best kind!
- Prep. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. You’ll want to also grease an 8 or 9-inch inch baking dish. You can use any shape – I like the oval – you just need it to be about 2 quarts in size.
- Cut up the chicken. Since the chicken is already cooked, just shred or cube the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. If you’re making this chicken casserole as a meal, I recommend cutting the chicken into cubes. As an appetizer, go the shredded route.
- Mix ingredients. Combine the cream cheese and salsa with the chicken until smooth and creamy over low heat in a large pan on the stove. Remove from the pan and stir in the black beans and green chiles. If you want to add a little more flavor, add a tablespoon of taco seasoning or garlic powder.
- Casserole Assembly: Layer crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of the baking dish, then the chicken mixture evenly. Next, layer sour cream, diced tomatoes, green onions, and shredded cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve as a meal with your favorite sides, or as a dip with tortilla chips.
What To Serve With This Mexican Chicken Casserole
This dish is fantastic served with a side of Cilantro Lime Rice, Authentic Mexican Rice or Refried Beans, and Homemade Flour Tortillas. Sometimes I’ll add a garden salad on the side for some fresh veggies.
For more Mexican-inspired recipes, try our famous Homemade Taquitos, Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas, Baked Chicken Tacos, and Cheese Enchiladas.
Mexican Casserole Variations and Swaps
Want to make this meal your own? This chicken casserole recipe is easy to customize!
- For an element of crunch and texture, add a handful of crushed tortilla chips on top before baking.
- Not a fan of black beans? Swap them out for pinto beans, or leave them out altogether and spread a layer of refried beans on top of the chicken mixture in the pan.
- Play around with your favorite cheeses. Cheddar and Jack are my favorites for this recipe, but you could use and favorite melty cheese, like Fontina, Mozzarella, or Pepper Jack for a little heat. Add some crumbled Cotija cheese on top after baking for a Mexican flair.
- Amp up the heat with some diced jalapeños in place of the green chiles.
- Try some Doritos or another flavored chip instead of tortilla chips.
Make Ahead, Storage, and Freezing
This is a great meal to take to a family in need! You can prep or fully bake ahead of time, and it travels well. Just make sure to include instructions for baking.
Can this casserole be made ahead of time? This recipe is a great make ahead option! Assemble the casserole and don’t bake it. Cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Remove from the fridge while the oven is preheated, remove the foil, and bake as directed.
How to store: Cool completely then cover and store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat small portions in the microwave or larger portions in the oven.
Can I freeze it? Yes! This casserole will actually freeze really well baked or unbaked. Assemble the layers and just don’t bake it. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and then foil. The double layer helps to prevent freezer burn.
To freeze a fully baked casserole, cool completely before covering and freezing. Thaw overnight in the fridge and set out while the oven is preheating and bake as directed. If already fully baked, just bake until warmed through.
More Casserole Recipes To Love
- Tuna Casserole Recipe
- Dorito Taco Salad Casserole
- Skillet Garlic Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Breakfast Enchilada Casserole
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Mexican Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cooked chicken breasts, diced or shredded about 2 cups
- 1 cup salsa your favorite
- 4 ounces cream cheese ½ cup
- 2 ounces canned diced green chiles half of a 4-ounce can; use the whole can for more kick
- 7.5 ounces canned black beans half a 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup crushed tortilla chips
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 medium sized tomato diced
- 2 green onions sliced
- 2 cups shredded cheddar/jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare an 8″ square or round dish.
- Place cooked chicken in a saute pan, add salsa and cream cheese and heat through until cream cheese is melted.
- Add black beans and green chiles and heat through.
- Layer ingredients in your prepared dish as follows: Crushed tortilla chips, Chicken mixture, Sour cream, Tomatoes, Green Onions, Cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Garnish with sliced green onions or cilantro and fresh tomato.
Hi, looking forward to trying this recipe tonight. Super stoked. I don’t have green onion but hopefully purple onion works. Seems simple enough even for me. 🙂
If you don’t mind the flavor of raw purple onion, then it’s a totally fine swap. It won’t cook enough in the casserole. I’d recommend sauteeing the onions first to soften them.
Thank you so much for your feedback. Good to know, I may try that or just leave the onion out all together.
My pleasure! You could also sprinkle in a little onion powder with the salsa.
Awesome recipe I used rotel instead of plain tomatoes and it was delish !!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Danielle.
Hi Looking forward to using trying this recipe for a party. I do not see on this recipe how many it serves. 6? 8? Thanks
It will serve roughly 5-6 people.
Excited to try this recipe for an upcoming party. Can you tell me how many this serves? I don’t see that info in the recipe
If you’re serving as a dip, it will serve 8. As a main course, 4-6.
Kristina your recipes are great but it would be nice to add the serving size. Love your recipes.
Hi Tina, thanks for your comment. We have been working on updating the recipes to include the nutritional content.
I don’t often print off a recipe to make again, but this one is going into my recipe notebook. Thanks for this yummy and fresh idea!
You are so welcome KDD, thank you so much for taking the time to leave some positive feedback.
I’m not much of a casserole maker but I made this for dinner and it was delicious and easy. I have to avoid gluten and it is hard to find gluten-free casserole recipes. I wasn’t sure if I would like the fresh tomatoes in this but they were like fresh, tasty jewels in this dish. I did add about a teaspoon of cumin in the cream cheese mixture and it added a nice flavor. I, also, had a ripe avocado, so I sliced it up and put it on top of the hot casserole. This will be in my go-to warm and comforting regular recipes from now on. Thank you!
You are so welcome Jeannine, thank you so much for taking the time to leave some positive feedback.
I was searching for a chicken casserole that wouldn’t be too expensive AND easy to make. I ran across the “Mexican Chicken Casserole”. I adore Mexican food and this recipe was a win~win!!
I do have to wait to buy the necessary ingredients but I do have chicken in the fridge. Can’t wait to taste this recipe and I will post my “taste test” outcome after my meal.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
You are so welcome Kay Y~H Thorson, thank you so much for taking the time to leave some positive feedback. yes, please let us know.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Love the ingredients and am sure my family will enjoy it. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
You are so welcome Tanya, thank you so much for stopping by.
Thank you for the recipe! I didn’t have enough salsa so I added a can of Rotel and a package of taco seasoning too. What a yummy recipe!
This is so easy and delicious. I did it without the tortilla chips though. Thank you so much for an amazingly flavorful casserole
You are so welcome Nilofer. Thanks for stopping by.
Made this exactly as the recipe states and wow! Best Mexican casserole I’ve had in a long time! The fresh tomato and green onion added so much depth of flavor! This is definitely going to be added to our rotation. Thanks for sharing!
You’re so welcome Elizabeth! thank you so much for stopping by!
I made this today with minor substitutions due to what I had –white onion instead of green, no green chiles, canned petite diced tomatoes (well drained), added 1/2 pkg taco seasoning to my cooked chicken, and took the suggestion to add some crushed tortilla chips on top before baking for crunch.
Also, I served it with additional toppings: fresh chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream, diced onion, black olives, and taco sauce. This turned out amazing and people can customize it to their own tastes. Total win!!
Great ideas LV! Thanks for sharing your feedback!
I made this but added taco seasoning and put torn up tortillas on the bottom instead of chips, and it was good — but really soupy. Wonder what I could’ve done different to prevent that from happening?
I’ve always made mine with tortilla chips and it’s never come out soupy. Perhaps the tortillas are the difference?
Also am thinking of using taco seasoned lean ground beef next time.
Made this. Used Ranch Style beans and rotes bc all I had in hand. It was really good. Hubs loved it
Hi Shelli, So happy that you and your family loved this recipe! Thanks for stopping by.
Can this be done in a crock pot.
I have not tried this in a crockpot, but I think it would work well.
This is such an easy and quick meal to make. My family and friends love it! It’s a staple meal in my household now.
Thanks for sharing your experience TaKara!
Made this recipe for Mexican night at church. it was quick and easy. I already had cooked chicken frozen and a lot of the ingredients on hand. I didn’t have the green onion or a fresh tomato so i substituted Rotel thinking that would get it the tomato and peppers. I also added about 1/2 package taco seasoning because i thought it might not have that mexican flavoring without it. This was just an OK recipe. Even adding the extra taco seasoning it was bland. I would add more taco seasoning if i made again and probably leave the chips out.
Hi Lisa, Sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you, but thanks for sharing your feedback.
I Sauteed chicken, sprinkled with some old bay, and a half an onion and half a green pepper. Used a layer of white rice on the bottom instead of chips. Used pinto beans instead of black beans. added a few shakes of tobasco sauce to the mix before I layered. Taco cheese on top.
Sounds amazing!
I had a recipe –can’t find it, that had red and yellow bell peppers, black beans, broth, salsa, chicken and a finely diced pablon0 pepper. With the bell peppers it adds a lot of color.. Sometimes left out pablano and used green chilies. Will use your recipe and toss in some diced sautéed bell peppers and onions.
I think that would be delicious Rose!